(1) All staff engaged in the Recruitment process must comply with the University's Staff Recruitment Policy and Procedures. (2) A Recruitment process must not be commenced without the approval of the Head of Cost Centre. (3) The establishment of a new position must be approved by the Head of Cost Centre on the basis of an approved budget and workforce plan. Where the new position varies from the workforce plan or budget, approval is required from the relevant Senior Executive. (4) As part of the University's Merit Selection process, all positions that require recruitment must be advertised on the UNE Web and appropriate media as determined by the Director HRS or delegate. Exceptions to this are transfers on grade, fixed-term appointments for periods less than twelve months, Early Career Academic appointments made in accordance with the Academic Collective Agreement, internal secondments and grant-funded positions that specified the appointment of specific staff. (5) Direct appointments (i.e. outside a Merit Selection process) for a permanent position, or a position in excess of twelve months (including internal secondments), must be approved by the Vice-Chancellor or delegate. (6) External recruitment agents may be used in exceptional circumstances as determined by the Director, Human Resource Services or delegate. For example, exceptional circumstances may include recruitment for an executive, specialist or industry-specific role. The Director, Human Resource Services or delegate must approve and oversee the use of all external recruitment agents. (7) For Professional Staff, the classification of the position being recruited must have been reviewed within the last two years. (8) A selection panel will be used to assess applicants as part of the Merit Selection process. Normally, the selection panel will: (9) Selection Criteria will be used for each Recruitment process. Selection Criteria must not be varied by the Selection Panel. To rank the most capable candidate(s) each applicant will be assessed as a whole against the following: (10) A minimum of two reference checks is normally obtained by the Chair of the Selection Panel to confirm the preferred candidate's merit against the selection criteria, before the final selection decision is made. (11) The Recruitment process for Academic appointments may include a seminar by candidates. Candidates may be exempted by the Vice-Chancellor (or delegate) from a requirement to deliver a seminar as part of the recruitment process. Seminars must not be attended by other candidates. (12) Offers of employment must only be made by the Vice-Chancellor or delegate. (13) Confidentiality across all aspects of the Recruitment process must be maintained and staff should have access to recruitment information on a 'need to know' basis. The process will be conducted in a manner that respects all candidates' confidentiality. (14) Any legislative requirements for pre-employment checks (such as visa status or Child-Related Employment) will be identified and actioned by HRS staff. (15) Child-related Employment - means employment of certain kinds that primarily involves direct contact with children (under the age of 18) where that contact is not directly supervised by a person having the capacity to direct the person in the course of their employment as defined in Section 33 of the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998. (16) Conflict of Interest - a conflict of interest may arise where an employee has the responsibility to make, or participate actively in making, decisions or recommendations relating to the employment of another individual, which makes it difficult for the employee to be objective, or that for a reasonable person would create the appearance that the employee may not be objective. (17) Cost Centre - means the relevant School, Directorate or other business unit. (18) Collective Agreements - means the University of New England Academic and ELC Teaching Staff Collective Agreement 2014-2017, the University of New England Professional Staff Collective Agreement 2014-2017, each as extended or varied from time to time, and is taken to include any agreement that replaces or varies one or more of these documents. (19) Director HRS - means the Director of Human Resource Services. (20) Early Career Academic appointment means an appointment under Clause 11.5.4 or 21.12 of the University of New England Academic and ELC Teaching Staff Collective Agreement 2014-2017. (21) Head of Cost Centre - normally means the Head of School or Director (as the case may be) of the relevant School or Directorate. Where it is not appropriate for the Head of School or Director to act, or where the circumstances relate to a position reporting directly to a Senior Executive, the Head of Cost Centre will be taken to mean the relevant Senior Executive. Where the matter relates to a Senior Executive, the Head of Cost Centre will be the Vice-Chancellor. (22) Merit selection - means a formal selection process that is designed to find and select the most capable candidate for the position being recruited. In determining the most capable candidate, regard should be had to the nature and duties of the position and the abilities, qualifications, experience and standard of work performance of the candidate that are relevant to the performance of those duties. Note: In this policy, internal expressions of interest, in accordance with clause 4, are permitted within the definition of merit selection, and are permitted only in relation to Early Career Academics and appointments for less than 12 months. (23) Recruitment - means the process of sourcing, selecting and appointing the best qualified candidate for an open position and includes analysing the requirements of a position, attracting applicants, screening and selecting applications and hiring and integrating the new employee into the University. (24) Senior Executive - means the Vice-Chancellor and his/her direct reports, excluding support staff. (25) Selection Criteria - means an appropriate statement of the skills, knowledge, experience and attributes considered essential or desirable for the position. (26) Supervisor - means the role to whom a position reports to. (27) Where the word 'normally' is used, it means that it is the default position that must be followed unless exceptional circumstances exist that require a departure from the default position, as determined by the Policy Administrator acting reasonably.Staff Recruitment Policy
Section 1 - Overview
Section 2 - Scope
Section 3 - Policy
Section 4 - Definitions and interpretation
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The University of New England recruits staff based on the principles of merit, equity and transparency to ensure it attracts and retains staff who will make a positive contribution to the University's values, culture and strategic objectives.
Top of PageThis policy applies to the Recruitment of all staff, with the exception of casual staff. The policy must be read in conjunction with relevant legislation, the current Collective Agreements and related policies.
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